In March, grasses grow tall and nightingales fly in the air. It is the best time of the year for spring outings and tasting seasonal food. On March 28, the unveiling ceremony of the Taicang Yangtze Estuary Tourism Resort and the 2012 China Taicang River, Sea and Creek Seafood Festival were held in the Liuhe Township People’s Government and the East China Sea Aquatic Products Trading Center respectively.

At the opening ceremony, representatives from the Taicang Cuisine Association, Taicang Food Industry Association and Taicang Liquor and Spirits Circulation Association, read out the Food Safety Initiative. At the same time, an award ceremony for the River, Sea and Creek Seafood Business Banquet, Family Banquet and Team Banquet of the 2012 China Taicang River, Sea and Creek Seafood Festival, was given together with the opening ceremony for China Taicang Cuisine project.

The festival attracted a self-driving tour of enthusiasts from the Yangtze River Delta area. A flag-giving ceremony featuring “Tasting seafood and enjoying peonies - Taicang” was held. Gourmet Passports were given to tourists and food enthusiasts. These events will further promote Taicang’s river, sea and creek seafood culture.

The festival is aimed at speeding up the development and construction of the Yangtze Estuary Tourism Resort, further promoting Taicang’s river, sea and creek seafood culture, and elevating the image of China as the home of river, sea and creek seafood. It also aims at strengthening exchanges and cooperation within the catering industry and boosting the development of commerce, trade and tourism in Taicang. The event will be organized by the government with established linkages among cities and towns. Resident’s involvement and market operations will work towards developing the China Taicang River, Sea and Creek Seafood Festival into a themed catering brand in the Yangtze River Delta area.

The events were attended by: Yuan Ding, deputy director general of the Jiangsu Provincial Tourism Administration; Chen Feng, vice-commissioner of Nanjing Office under PRC’s Ministry of Commerce; Lu Jun, former vice-chair of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPPCC and honorary president of the Jiangsu Cuisine Association; Xi Qiusheng, president of the Jiangsu Cuisine Association; Lu Weiyue, deputy secretary-general of Suzhou Municipal Government; and Shen Wenjuan, director general of Suzhou Municipal Tourism Bureau. Officials from Taicang’s Party Committee, the municipal government, People’s Congress and the CPPCC Taicang municipal committee also were in attendance.

The 2011 China Taicang River, Sea and Creek Seafood Festival, under the theme of enjoying landscape and tasting seafood, was organized by the Taicang Municipal People’s Government and Jiangsu Cuisine Association. It was sponsored by the Taicang Yangtze Estuary Tourism Resort Management Committee, the People’s Government of Liuhe Town, Taicang Municipal Commerce Bureau, Taicang Municipal Tourism Bureau and Suzhou Cuisine Association. It has received great support from t he China Cuisine Association, Shanghai Cuisine Association and Zhejiang Cuisine Association.

Planned 12 events 

March 28: 

River, Sea and Creek Seafood Business Banquet, Family Banquet and Team Banquet Show and Contest

Youth Cooking Skills Competition

River, Sea and Creek Passion- Themed Evening Show

East China Sea Aquatic Products Trading Center Match-making Meeting for Producers and Distributors

Hundred of Media Focusing on Liuhe, the first town at the end of the river and the front of the sea

Taicang Tourism and Food Geek Contest

March 29:

Taicang River, Sea and Creek Seafood Seminar

March 28 - March 30:

Flying Dragon & Jumping Fish- Folk Culture Street

March 28 - May 28:

Sea and River Scenery - River, Sea and Creek Mixed Seafood Products Special Sales Event

March-May:

Tasting Mixed Seafood and Enjoying Peonies- Taicang Happy Self-driving

April 8 - May 8:

Shanghai Sentiment- Famous Livable City- Liuhe High-quality Buildings Show

April 13:

Matsu Worship Ceremony in Tianfei Temple, Liuhe Town

About Liuhe

Taicang’s Liuhe town is the place where Zheng He set off his seven voyages to explore the western world. Dubbed was the first town at the end of the river and the front of the sea, Liuhe is the eastern door of the Jiangsu province from where the river joins the sea. It is located to the south of Yangtze River and to the north of Shanghai. According to introduction, 35 percent of Liuhe is covered by water. Its unique water environment becomes a gathering place for a variety of river, sea and creek seafood, presenting the essence of the festival.

Diverse cooking techniques

Ancestors of Taicang have been living in there for over the last few thousands of years. They used to travel by boat, work in paddy fields and dress in cotton clothes with fish and rice as their staple food. This tradition fostered a fish and rich culture emphasizing the elaborate delicacy. The unique scenery from the river, sea and creek blended seafood into its culture. When cooking fish, people in Taicang value the combination of five flavors, five colors and five spices. The cooking techniques include stir-frying, quick-frying, deep-frying, pan-frying, steaming, stewing, boiling and scalding. The dishes they cooked are a perfect combination of color, aroma, taste and appearance.

Fresh is very important when tasting mixed seafood. Apart from steaming, another traditional way of cooking for sanma is braised, cooked in soup and made into a wonton. It is worth to note sanma wonton. People choose fresh sanma meat, chop it into mud with their hands and add some seasoning. The fillings for the sanma wonton are then ready. In doing so, the fresh taste of sanma will not be lost. This unique wonton gives people a quite different feeling. The most commonly used techniques of puffer fish is braising and cooked with in soup. In addition, puffer fish sashimi is also served by professional chefs. They sliced the fish at first and cook it. In this way, we can have not only the fresh taste of puffer fish but also its delicate meat.

Recommended accommodation

The Taicang Yangtze River Estuary Tourism Resort is located at the eastern part of the Liuyang town and is one of the first batches of municipal-level tourism resorts in Suzhou. It starts from Yangtze River’s Binjiang shoreline in the east and Hutai new road and Liuxi road in the west and ends at new Liuhe in the south. The town’s boundary in the north has a planned area of 16 square kilometers.

Liuhe integrates historical and cultural tourism resource such as Liuhe ancient town, eco-tourism resources represented by Yangtze River’s Binjiang shoreline, and other tourism resources including East China Sea Aquatic Products Trading Center and garden resorts. With the theme of spending leisure time in an ancient port and staying in an old town featuring river and sea characteristics, it plans to construct four major tourism development clusters. These include the Binjiang New City, Fisherman’s Wharf, Liuhe ancient town and hot spring community. They strive to build the Taicang Yangtze River Estuary Tourism Resort into the best regional tourism resort, famous at home and abroad. The main functions of the resort include high-end entertainment, special catering, cultural experiences, tourism and international exchange.